Motor vehicle



July 23, 1940. Y J. M. CHRISTMAN 2,209,259

MOTOR VEHICLE Original Filed March 17, 19:3 4 Sheets-Shet 1 MOTOR VEHI OLE Original Filed March 17, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jig/6 GUM/um;

y 1940. J. M. CHRISTMAN 2,209,259

MOTOR VEHICLE Original Filed March 17, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 July 23, 1940.

J. M' CHRISTMAN MOTOR VEHICLE Original Filed March 17, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented July 23, 1940 UNITED STATES MOTOR VEHICLE John M. Christman, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Packard Motor Car Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Original application March 1'1, 1933, Serial No.

661,392. Divided and this application February 1, 1937, Serial No. 123,465

6 Claims.

This invention relates to motor vehicles and is more particularly concerned with vehicle wheel suspensions and wheel housings or fairings for use in conjunction therewith. It is the principal object of the invention to provide a wheel suspension which will permit the association with the road wheels of permanent lateral fairings.

It has heretofore been proposed, for the purpose of improving the appearance of vehicles and reducing the resistance to flow of air past the same, to provide wheel fairings at the sides of the road wheels, these fairings being removably secured to the adjacent fenders or body panels so that the wheels may be accessible for removal and replacement.

For instance, a detachable or displaceable plate or panel may be secured to the fender and may extend downwardly below the axis of the road wheel, terminating on a line which is substantially coextensive with the usual running board. In the event the vehicle frame is lowered to such an extent that no running board is necessary, the passengers entering the vehicle body directly from the road bed, the lower edge of the fairing may be substantially flush with the lower portion of the vehicle body. Thus in a streamlined vehicle in which the lower portion of the side of the vehicle body from front to rear is substantially or nearly fiat, the wheels being housed entirely within the body and the more conventional fender being eliminated, the exterior surface of the detachable fairing may be coextensive with the face of adjacent body panel portions.

It is proposed by the present invention to pro- Vide a wheel suspension system in which these fairings are integral with or secured permanently to the adjacent fender or body panel,' the arrangement being such as to permit the road wheel to be lowered to an extent not possible with present pring suspensions, in order that the bolts which secure the wheel in position may be rendered accessible for removal of the wheel without removing or displacing the wheel fairing or other body panel structure. In the preferred form of the, invention it is possible to enclose the major portion of the outer face of the wheel and thus to materially improve appearance and streamlining of the vehicle.

Further objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating a portion of a motor vehicle chassis to which the invention has been applied; V

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the rear portion of a motor vehicle'showing the road wheel in the position which it normally occupies; 7

Figure 3 is a view .similar to Figure 2 illustrating the relative position of the Vehicle body and road wheel when the latter is being removed for replacement; 7

Figure 4 is a plan view of a wheel suspension unit illustrating the application thereof to the steerable road wheel; I

Figure 5 is a vertical section through the unit shown in Figure 4 and taken substantially on the line 55 of Figure 6;

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 6-6 of Figure 5; I

Figure '7 is a vertical sectional view on the line li of Figure 5;

Figure 8 is a side elevation of the construction illustrated in Figure 4; and

Figure 9 is an enlarged sectional view of valve mechanism shown in Figure 5.

In order to facilitate an understanding, of the invention, specific reference is made herein to various elements in the embodiment of the invention selected for the purpose of illustration. It will nevertheless be appreciated that by the use of specific language no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, but that various alterations of the construction shown and described are contemplated such as fall within the spirit of the invention. It will be noted that this application is a division of my prior filed application Serial No. 661,392, filed March 17, 1933.

Referring first to Figure 1 of the drawings-,;,it will be observed that the vehicle frame is illustrated as comprising the usual side frame mem'- bers H3, and transverse frame members l2 and 13: The specific construction of this frame is a matter of no importance, however, so far as the present invention is concerned.

It will be convenient to describe first the mechanism whereby the steerable road wheelsat the forward end of the vehicle frame are supported for simultaneous steering movement and for relative vertical movement in response toroad conditions. This mechanism comprises support-. ing brackets 15, one being located at each side of the vehicle, and bolted or otherwise rigidly secured to the outer face of the associated side frame member II] as indicated at I6. Each of these supporting brackets carries a steering knuckle l8,-the bracket I5 terminating in a forked portion 1 9 which receives the knuckle I8, and

not an important feature of the invention. For

instance, while the'axis of the king pin is illustrated as substantially vertical, it will be under.-

stood that in practice this axis would be inclinedto the vertical to afford the usual caster effect. Furthermore, although the term steering knuckle is used'hereinfor convenience, this term is intended to cover any "device or member supported for movement in a horizontal or nearly horizontal plane and adapted to carry'a road wheel, sothatthe vehiclemay be steered by movement of the knuckle.

The steering knuckle l8 is formed to provide a forwardly directed substantially longitudinally extending arm as shown more particularly in Figure 4 of the drawings and carries at its forward'end a housing 2i; Thus the knuckle arm may be either integrally formed with the housing 2 I or be rigidly secured thereto so that the hous-v ing partakes of steering movement 'with the steering knuckle l8.

By reference to Figures 4 and 6 it will be observed that a shaft 23 is journalled as indicated at 24' within the housing for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis, the shaft 23 extending laterally from the housing and being provided with 'a longitudinally extending arm 24, which is rigidly secured to the shaft for rotative movement therewith, for instance by means of a ,nut 25 threaded'on the end of the shaft.

, The free end of the ar1n24 is provided with a disk-shaped portion 25-to which may be bolted or otherwise secured the usual brake backing plate, and is also provided with a laterally extending wheel spindle 25, the latter being preferablydisposed adjacent the king pin 20 and serving to support the usual vehicle road-wheel which may bejournalled thereon in any conventional manner.' v

The arm 24 normally occuplies' a substantially horizontal positioni and means, hereinafter described, are provided within the casing'Zl to yieldingly resist swinging movement of the arm in a vertical plane and resultantpscillation of the shaft'23.

"At its lower side the casing 2| "is provided with a depending arm "21 to which the conventional drag link 28 is pivotally connected ;as indicated at 29, the drag link being in turn pivotally connected to a steering arm 30 carried by a shaft 3| extending through the side frame member l and operable by gearing within a steering gear. housing 32, the latter being disposed at the lower end of the steering column 33 and being (not shown) i A cross tie rod 35 is also provided to connect operable from the usual steering hand wheel the housing 2| at opposite sides of the vehicle extend in oppositedirections within the chamber,

44', the latter serving as a'fluid' supply reservoir as hereinafter described. The housing 2| is also formed to provide a plurality of substantially horizontally disposed cylinders 45 and 46 leading from the chamber 44, those chambers having similar functions being designated by the same reference character. H

In the drawings twelve of these cylinders have been shown, the cylinders being arranged in two substantially horizontal planes, one above the other, and the pairs of cylinders in each plane being opposed and substantially coaxial.

A piston 41 is operable in each of the cylinders 45 and pistons 48 reciprocate within the cylclosed by means of threaded elements and coil springs 50 are introduced in each cylinder 45 between the closure element and the piston-'41 to resist outward movement of thepiston. Coil springs 52 are also introduced-in the cylinders 46, these springs being compressed between the pistons 48 and the inner ends of the cylinders.

The ends of the arms 40 and engage the in-i nerends of the pistons 41 and it will be observed from Figure 5 of the drawingsthat rotatio'nfof the shaft 23 in a clockwise direction will: effect reciprocation of the pistons in all four of :the cylinders shown therein and compression of the coil springs in each of the cylinders, such clockwise rotation of the shaft 23, resulting from upward movement in a substantially vertical plane of the arm 24 and the road wheel carried thereby. It will thus be seen that the coil springs; of which twelve are shown, afford the. sole support for such portion of the vehicle load as is carried by the associated road wheel.

When upward movement of the road wheel-occurs, for instance as the result of an obstruction in the road bed, the pistons 41 will be moved toward the outer ends of the associated cylinders. 45 and the pistons 48 willbe withdrawn from the outer ends of the cylinders 46 withthe result that any fluid within the cylinders 45 will ':be compressed and fluid within the cylinders 46 willbe expanded. I

On downward movement of the road wheel withrespect to the vehicle frame the reverse of this operation will take place, fluid being compressed in the cylinders 46 by the action of the coil springs on the pistons 48, whereas fluid within the cylinders 45 will be expanded, the action. of the springs being thus effectively damped. It is therefore convenient to designate the cylinders 45 which serve primarily to' resist upward movement of the road wheel as compression cylinders and the cylinders 46,,which func tion principally to resist excessively rapid expansion of the springs, as rebound cylinders, all

of the pistons moving in unison and the rebound and compression cylinders functioning in oppo site phase relation.

The compression cylinders 45 are in open communication so that they function in effect as a unit. Thus the cylinders 45 disposed in the upper horizontal plane may be connected by fluid passages 55 extending through the walls defining the respective cylinders'and the rebound cylinders 46 in the lower horizontal plane are connected by passages 56, as shown more particularly in Figure 7 of the drawings. It will be ap-' preciated that similar communication is effected between the rebound cylinders 46 in the'vupper horizontal plane and between the compression cylinders 45 in the lower horizontal plane. Furthermore, a conduit 58 extends between and communicates with the end compression cylinders 45 in the upper and lower horizontal planes and similarly a conduit 59 communicates with the end rebound cylinders 46 in the upper and lower horizontal planes. It will thus be seen that on upward movement of the vehicle road wheel, fluid within all of the compression cylinders 45 will be.compressed to a substantially equal extent by reason of the fact that these cylinders are all in communication whereas on downward movement of the road wheel the fluid in the rebound cylinders 46 will be compressed to an equal extent. Thus if a single passage is provided between one of the compression cylinders and one of the rebound cylinders, fluid will be forced through the passage from all of the compression cylinders into all of the rebound cylinders or vice versa depending on the direction of movement in a vertical plane of the road wheel.

Such a passage is indicated at 60 and is shown more particularly in Figure 5 of the drawings, this passage being enlarged intermediate its ends to form a valve chamber SI for controlling the flow of fluid between the two sets of cylinders, this enlarged chamber being preferably drilled from one end of the casing, the outer end of the chamber being closed by means of a threaded plug 62. It is desirable that the fluid flow between the compression and rebound cylinders through the connecting passage 60 be so controlled as to provide the necessary resistance to movement of the pistons on the occurrence of vertical movement of the road wheels as is the customary practice in shock absorbing devices.

The desired control may be effected by valve mechanisms 68 and 69 located in the enlarged portion 6| of the passage 60, these valve mechanisms being illustrated more specifically in Figure 9 of the drawings. Thus the valve mechanism 58, which serves to control flow of fluid from the compression cylinders into the rebound cylinders may comprise a substantially cylindrical housing 10 havinga radial flanged portion 'H at one end which normally seats against the adjacent end wall of the chamber 6|. This flanged portion H is provided at intervals about the periphery thereof with radially extending slots 12 to afford a restricted passage for fluid.

An element M which is likewise substantially tubular is slidably supported within the housing '10 and is urged in one direction by means of, a coil spring 75, the end face 16 of theelement 14' seating in the mouth of the passage 60 at thelefthand end of the chamber Bl as viewed in Figure 9 to normally close the passage.

Flow of fluid to the right through the interior of the element 'M-is prevented by a valve ball 15 which is adapted to engage a seat 16 formed within the element 14, this ball floating in an enlarged recess '13 within the element M and being retained against displacement out of the recess by means of projections 19 formed on the element 14 adjacent its outer end.

A collar provided with a plurality of arcuate recesses 8! permitting the passage of fluid there through engages the flanged portion H of the housing 18 and is in turn engaged by a relatively stiff coil spring 83 which maintains the collar 80 and housing 10 normally in the position in which it is shown in Figure 9.

It will be observed from the constructionthus far described that when fluid is forced fromthe compression cylinders and passes tothe rightain the passage 60, the pressure will force the ele-' ment [4 to the right against the action of the coil spring 15, thus permitting flow of fluid through the slots 12 in the housing 16 and the openings 8! in thecollar 80, affording a relatively restricted fluid passage.

Referring now to the valve mechanism 69 at the right-hand side of the valve chamber 5|, it will be observed that this comprises a substantially tubular housing 85 provided with a radially extending flanged portion 86 and having the end face Bl thereof normally seated on the inner face 88 of theplug 52. This plug is provided with a longitudinally extending fluid passage 89 and laterally extending passages 93, the latter communicating with the adjacent portion of the passage 60. The housing 85 is formed to receive a valve seat member 90 adjacent one end theree of, this valve seat member being engaged-by a valve ball 9| which is urged-toward the seat-by means of a coil spring 92. At the point of con-, tact between the seat 90 and the ball 9 I, the latter is provided with a plurality of small orifices 94' which permit limited flow of fluid therethrough even though the ball 91 is properly seated, for a purpose hereinafter explained.

A collar -96 provided with a plurality of-ar-, cuate openings 9'! therein engages the flanged portion 85 of the housing 85 and is in turn engaged by the coil spring 83, so that'the housing 85 and collar 96 normally occupy the position shown in Figure 9 of the drawings with theendportion 8'! of the collar seating on the inner end of PM plug 52 about the passage 89. ,j

When fluid is forced from the rebound cylinders it flows through the passages 93 and Hand. the pressure thus developed'moves the housing 85 to the left to permit passage of fluid through the openings 91 in the collar 96. With the exception of the small amount of fluid which is per-. mitted to pass between the ball 9| and the seat 90, as hereinbefore mentioned, fluid can be forced from the rebound to the compression cylinders only by moving the housing 85 against the action of the relatively stiff spring 83, whereas the hous ing 10 need not be shifted from its seat in order. to permit normal fluid flow from the compression to the rebound cylinders. sistance is offered to passage of fluid from the rebound cylinders than from the compression cylinders. It will nevertheless be observed that when excessive pressures are developed in the compression cylinders, for instance'as. the result of sudden upward movement of thevehicle road wheel on encountering a large obstruction, such pressure will be suflicient to'overcome there sistance of the spring83 and force the housing be avoided, together with the difliculties attendant upon the development of such pressure, formstance thepossible expansion and seizing. ofzthe pistons within the compression cylinders.

In order to compensate for the wear of thepistons and the resultant leakage of. fluid there'- Thus more rep from, the orifices 94 hereinbefore referred to'are' provided. When the apparatus is first installed,

Til

fluid is suflicient toJpermiti the, shock absorber to function properly. As thepistons become vworn, and less pressure is applied to the fluid in the working; cylinders, these; small orificesv will like: wise tend to become closed by reason of wear on the seat 90 so. that approximately the .same amount of fluid is. caused to ,flow after-the apparatus has been in service for some time. uniformity of action of theshock absorber is secured regardless of the length of service. I I I It will be noted that by means of this construction'the degree of resistance offered by the valve mechanisms 68 and 69 to movement of fluidrin opposite directions therethrough may be independently determined, the ball '15 permitting free movement. of fluid through the element 14 :from the rebound cylinders and the ball '9I' yielding to -permit free movement of fluid through the housing 85 from the compression cylinders. Thus the two-valve elements may be initially formed to provide different degrees of resistance to flow in'opposite directions. I

As mentioned hereinbefore, the chamber 44 serves as a supply reservoir and is preferably ini-. tially filled with the working fluid. As the fluid in the syst'em'including the cylinders and the connections therebetween is depleted owing to was:

leakage past the pistons or otherwise, 'fluidlis automatically withdrawn from the supply cham-' ber 44 and introduced in the system. This may be 'convenientlyefiected by the means shown more particularly in Figure 6 of the drawings and comprising a passage I communicating with the supply chamber-and a passage IIlI communicating with the passage 60, a spring'pressed check valve I02 being interposed-between the passages I00 and IIlI to permit flow therethrough 'in one direction only. Thus the housing may be recessed to receive a threaded plug I04 having a duct I05 therein communicating with the passage 'IIJ0', the spring pressed valve element I02 "serving to normally close the outer end of the passage I05. Asthe fluid in the-system including the cylin ders is reduced in quantity, the pressure in the passage 60 will be correspondingly-lowered and fluid will be drawn through the communicating passages I00 and NI into the system to automatically replenish the fluid.

Referring now to Figures 1 to 3 of the draw- 'ings,'in' which the support for the road wheels at the rear'of the vehicle'is shown, it will'be appreciated that the same spring supporting and I shock absorbing unit may be employed as is illustrated in connection with the .steerable road wheels. Thus the housings 2I may be secured in any convenie'rit manner directlyto the side frame members I0, thesehousings serving as a support forthe arms 24which'carry the road wheel spindles26 on which the road wheels 34 are rotatably supported. It will be understood that suitable shafting, not shown in the drawings, is provided for driving these road wheels from the usual differential gearing, which maybe s pported directly on the vehicle frame. v

The employment of an individual wheel -sus-" pension such as that disclosed herein and the. resultant elimination of springsbetween the vehicle frame and'body makes it possible to support the vehicle body directly on the frame and thusythe body may be lowered to such-an extent that the usual running board may be eliminated if desired. The rear fender IIU-is' preferably formedso as to extend across .the entireupper portion of the road wheel1andis illustratedmin When the vehicle is againlowered, the wheels the drawings with the lower edge III thereof disposed substantiallyflush with the lower edge I .I2. oi the vehiclebody and forming ineffect a continuation of the lower body line. This arrangementmaybe alternatively described as cone. stituting a-conventional' fender having an integral apron or'fairing extending across 'atleast abouthalf of the wheel face.' While this construction improves the appearance of the vehicle by concealing to alarge extent the vehicle wheel whichis frequently coated with mud and grease under ordinary conditions of service, and further improves the streamlining of the vehicle andre-5 duces wind resistance, it offers difficulties in practice since the bolts II5 which are used to secure the conventional replaceable road wheel in posi-. tion are not readily accessible and it is furthermore diflicult to remove the wheel even after the bolts are withdrawn.

Ifo.o bviate this difiiculty the present invention contemplates a modification of the wheel support wherebyit is,possible todrop the vehiclewheel much further than has been permitted heretofore. Thus it will be seenb-y reference to Figure 5 of 'the'drawings that the wall of the chamber is cutaway as indicated at II8 on either side of the shaft 23 to permit the arms 40 and 42 to. swingthrough'arcuate paths of nearly 90, it .be' ing'observed that'the arms 40 and 42 are not se.-, cured to the cylinders but merely engage the latter to move the cylinders in one direction only. Thus whenajack I is placed under the vehicle frame andthe vehicle is elevated, the wheel may swing down freely to the position in which it is shown in Figure 3, and even further'if necessary; to provide access to the bolts II'al and to permit the wheels to be readily removed frombeneath thefender H0, the'arms 40 and 42 moving into the recesses H8. in the wall of the chamber -44'.

It is of course desirable that the downward'move:

ment of the wheel be limited so that on continued sent" abutmentsIZI which serve to engage and y limitthe movement of the arms .40 and 42. Thus after, the vehicle has been'jacked up to an extent 'suflicient to permit the arms! and 42' to move into engagement withthe abutments. I2I further elevation of ,the vehicle effects removal of the road wheel from the road surface.

move upwardly to theposition shown in Figure,2,' and the arms 40and '42 ,move into abutting relation with the pistons 41, it being appreciated that the weightiof the vehicle is at all timessufiicient to maintain engagement between these arms and p the associated cylinders.

It will beappreciated that permanent fairings, in conjunction with the general type of wheel suspension disclosed herein, may be applied to either the front er the rearwheels of the vehicle andto-either steerable or non-steerable wheels. It will also .be understood that the fairing may form part, of a continuous and substantially flat outer bodypanel invehicles from which the more conventional type-of fender is eliminated. j Various modifications of the wheel suspension structure described herein, in whichthe wheels may be lowered to a sufl'icient extent to permit their re moval'frombeneath' a permanent fairing of substantialarea, will readily occur to one skilled in theart to which the invention relates;

Having thus .pdescribed the invention, .what, is

claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a motor vehicle, the combination with a vehicle frame, of a road wheel, an arm supporting said road wheel and normally extending in a substantially horizontal direction, means supporting said arm for swinging movement on said frame, yielding means associated with said last named means for resisting movement of said arm in an upward direction only, said arm being movable freely in a downward direction, and a fender sup ported on said frame and having an apron integral therewith, said apron extending over at least about half of the outer face of said wheel, said arm and wheel being movable downwardly to an extent sufiicient to permit ready removal of the wheel.

2. In a motor vehicle, the combination with a vehicle frame, of a road wheel supported on said frame for rising and falling movement with respect thereto, means acting between said frame and wheel and yieldingly resisting rising movement of the latter, a body structure carried by said frame, said structure including a wheel fairing covering at least half of the lateral face of said wheel, and means supporting said read wheel on said frame, said last named means affording downward movement of said wheel to an extent sufficient to permit removal thereof without displacement or removal of said fairing.

3. In a motor vehicle, the combination with a vehicle frame, of road wheels supported on said frame for independent rising and falling movement with respect thereto, a body structure supported by said frame and normally concealing at least about half of the lateral face of each wheel, and means supporting said road wheels and affording downward movement of the latter to an extent suificient to permit ready removal of the wheels without removal of any portion of said body.

4. In a motor vehicle, the combination with a vehicle frame, of road wheels supported on said frame for independent rising and falling movement with respect thereto, a body structure supported by said frame and normally concealing at least about half of the lateral'face of each wheel, and means supporting said road wheels and affording downward movement of the latter to an extent sufiicient to permit ready removal of the wheels without removal of any portion of said body, said means including an arm carrying each road wheel and pivoted on said frame, and means yieldingly resisting rising movement only of said arms.

5. In a motor vehicle, the combination with a ford downward movement of said wheels to an extent sufiicient to permit ready removal of said wheels without removal or displacement of any portion of said panels.

6. In a motor vehicle, the combination with a vehicle frame and a body carried by said frame and including exterior panels, of road wheels supported on said frame for independent rising and falling movement with respect thereto, said panels covering at least about half of the lateral faces of said wheels, means supporting said wheels for rising and falling movement with respect to said frame, said means being constructed to afford downward movement of said wheels to an extent sufiicient to permit ready removal of said wheels without removal or displacement of any portion of said panels, and means positively limiting such downward movement.

JOHN M. CI-IRISTMAN. 

